Tom Smothers of sibling comedy duo the Smothers Brothers dies at age 86

Tom Smothers in 2003: ‘Fifty years later, I look back on us being fired, and I’m still pissed off.’ Photograph: Louis Lanzano/AP

Tom Smothers, half of the comedy group the Smothers Brothers, has died at the age of 86.

Smothers was described as “not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life”, but as “a one-of-a-kind creative partner”, according to a statement by his brother Dick Smothers on Wednesday shared by the National Comedy Center.